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Rep. Paul Ryan's House Budget Committee just released a report entitled "The War On Poverty: 50 Years Later" that notes the scandalous reality of American poverty today (22 percent of our nation's children are in poverty, and "deep poverty" has reached its highest level on record), but blames it on the same tired old boogeymen the right has trotted out for a half century -- the "failure" of federal poverty programs, including the "poverty trap" of dependence on federal programs. This is absurd on its face. Most of those federal programs are now mere shadows of their former selves. Welfare is gone. Unemployment insurance is available to fewer than 60 percent of the unemployed. Food stamps are being cut. Ryan and his colleagues have even succeeded is slashing programs for women, infants, and children.

Here's the truly extraordinary thing: Ryan's report never once mentions America's savage increase in inequality over the last half century. But poverty is precisely and directly connected to widening inequality because (1) when most income goes to the top, the vast middle doesn't have the purchasing power needed to get the economy out of first gear, which causes high unemployment -- especially for those with the least skills and education: (2) when income and wealth are concentrated at the top the rich have enough political power to reduce their tax rates, and as real median household incomes drop the middle class doesn't have the will or ability to pay more in taxes -- with the result that tax revenues can't pay for adequate education, social services, jobs programs, and job training needed by the poor; and (3) when the income ladder elongates, upward mobility is far harder because movement up the ladder results in less gain. That Ryan and company don't mention any of this shows how utterly ignorant he and his colleagues are about what's really happening to America.

If there is a dangerous forum ... that's the one. -- LWW (referring to BD NPR)

Rep. Paul Ryan's House Budget Committee just released a report entitled "The War On Poverty: 50 Years Later" that notes the scandalous reality of American poverty today (22 percent of our nation's children are in poverty, and "deep poverty" has reached its highest level on record), but blames it on the same tired old boogeymen the right has trotted out for a half century -- the "failure" of federal poverty programs, including the "poverty trap" of dependence on federal programs. This is absurd on its face. Most of those federal programs are now mere shadows of their former selves. Welfare is gone. Unemployment insurance is available to fewer than 60 percent of the unemployed. Food stamps are being cut. Ryan and his colleagues have even succeeded is slashing programs for women, infants, and children.

Here's the truly extraordinary thing: Ryan's report never once mentions America's savage increase in inequality over the last half century. But poverty is precisely and directly connected to widening inequality because (1) when most income goes to the top, the vast middle doesn't have the purchasing power needed to get the economy out of first gear, which causes high unemployment -- especially for those with the least skills and education: (2) when income and wealth are concentrated at the top the rich have enough political power to reduce their tax rates, and as real median household incomes drop the middle class doesn't have the will or ability to pay more in taxes -- with the result that tax revenues can't pay for adequate education, social services, jobs programs, and job training needed by the poor; and (3) when the income ladder elongates, upward mobility is far harder because movement up the ladder results in less gain. That Ryan and company don't mention any of this shows how utterly ignorant he and his colleagues are about what's really happening to America.

Conservatives never let a foreign-policy crisis go to waste. Consider today's right-wing talking points linking the crisis in Ukraine to approval of the Keystone XL pipeline. Paul Ryan says approval of the pipeline would "signal America is open for energy business and America will be helping our allies with energy resources so that they can be less dependent on Russian energy resources." Fox News' Bill O'Reilly says "the Keystone pipeline must be approved. Why? Because Russia is blackmailing Europe over energy … the more oil and natural gas the USA and Canada can produce and distribute, the weaker Russia becomes on the world stage."

This is pure baloney for at least three reasons: (1) Even if approved, construction of the pipeline would take at least a year -- hardly a timely response to the crisis in Ukraine, (2) even at full capacity, oil from Canada's tar sands would deliver 830,000 barrels per day, barely a trickle in a global oil market that consumes 92 million barrels a day -- and therefore would have almost no impact on Russia's oil sales, and (3) Russia's real bargaining strength comes in its supplies of natural gas to Europe, but natural gas is difficult and costly to transfer and store in cargo ships bound to Europe from American ports.

If there is a dangerous forum ... that's the one. -- LWW (referring to BD NPR)

Conservatives never let a foreign-policy crisis go to waste. Consider today's right-wing talking points linking the crisis in Ukraine to approval of the Keystone XL pipeline. Paul Ryan says approval of the pipeline would "signal America is open for energy business and America will be helping our allies with energy resources so that they can be less dependent on Russian energy resources." Fox News' Bill O'Reilly says "the Keystone pipeline must be approved. Why? Because Russia is blackmailing Europe over energy … the more oil and natural gas the USA and Canada can produce and distribute, the weaker Russia becomes on the world stage."

This is pure baloney for at least three reasons: (1) Even if approved, construction of the pipeline would take at least a year -- hardly a timely response to the crisis in Ukraine, (2) even at full capacity, oil from Canada's tar sands would deliver 830,000 barrels per day, barely a trickle in a global oil market that consumes 92 million barrels a day -- and therefore would have almost no impact on Russia's oil sales, and (3) Russia's real bargaining strength comes in its supplies of natural gas to Europe, but natural gas is difficult and costly to transfer and store in cargo ships bound to Europe from American ports.

Add to that it is the filthiest of all the filthy oil, and hence, we should not ever approve that pipeline, which goes right over our most precious water resource. funny how the wealthy CEO of Exxon doesn't want any fracking near his multi-million dollar mansion, as well. More CEO corruption, is the whole problem in this country, and the RATS Roberts, Alito, Thomas and Scalia, have corrupted our entire democracy with Citizens United.

A corporation is NOT a person, and money is not the same thing as free speech.

Re mac being jealous of theusofa, i am terryfyd of theusofa. And i wouldn't vizit theusofa even if I had a free ticket, what a scarey place. I would vizit the UK.
mac.

So your terror of the USA is why you're so jealous of the USA?

RR does not believe in zero deficits, BTW. He believes that our government should be free of corruption, which destroys the lives of the common man, all for the benefit of the wealthy top corrupt pigs among us.

The UK is also chock full of terrorists, and corrupt CEO's, BTW. They're all over the world. AND they have had even more terrorist attacks, there, over the last few decades, than we have had here.

World Public Opinion: 61% of Egyptians approve of attacks on Americans
32% of Indonesians approve of attacks on Americans
41% of Pakistanis approve of attacks on Americans
38% of Moroccans approve of attacks on Americans
83% of Palestinians approve of some or most groups that attack Americans (only 14% oppose)
62% of Jordanians approve of some or most groups that attack Americans (21% oppose)
42% of Turks approve of some or most groups that attack Americans (45% oppose)
A minority of Muslims disagreed entirely with terror attacks on Americans:
(Egypt 34%; Indonesia 45%; Pakistan 33%)
About half of those opposed to attacking Americans were sympathetic with al-Qaeda’s attitude toward the U.S.http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pi..._Feb09_rpt.pdf

Pew Research (2010): 55% of Jordanians have a positive view of Hezbollah
30% of Egyptians have a positive view of Hezbollah
45% of Nigerian Muslims have a positive view of Hezbollah (26% negative)
43% of Indonesians have a positive view of Hezbollah (30% negative)http://pewglobal.org/2010/12/02/musl...and-hezbollah/

Pew Research (2010): 60% of Jordanians have a positive view of Hamas (34% negative).
49% of Egyptians have a positive view of Hamas (48% negative)
49% of Nigerian Muslims have a positive view of Hamas (25% negative)
39% of Indonesians have a positive view of Hamas (33% negative)http://pewglobal.org/2010/12/02/musl...and-hezbollah/